taiwan morakot typhoon

After forming as a tropical depression over the Pacific

Ocean about 1,000 km east of the Philippines on August 2nd,

Typhoon Morakot built in power and moved quickly west.

Taitung

Tainan

Kaohsiung

Taipei

Taichung

A satellite image of Typhoon Morakot as it approaches Taiwan on August 6, 2009.

Over the past several days, the storm has passed over the Philippines, Taiwan and Mainland China, causing

hundreds of millions of dollars in damage due to high winds, flooding and mudslides.

A railroad bridge damaged by Typhoon Morakot is seen in Taitung, eastern Taiwan August 8, 2009.

Water flows past a severely eroded embankment near a damaged bridge that previously linked Pingtung and Kaohsiung, in southern Taiwan on August 9, 2009.

A statue of Buddha's head is seen submerged in flood water and debris from Typhoon Morakot at a temple in Kaohsiung County, southern Taiwan Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009.

A storm-damaged bridge in Chiashien, southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung county, seen on August 10, 2009.

A collapsed apartment block lies on a river bed in Taimali, in southeast Taiwan's Taitung county on August 10, 2009.

Driftwood and debris fills Fugang Harbor after Typhoon Morakot hit Taitung county, eastern Taiwan, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009.

Typhoon Morakot broke many records in Taiwan, dumping a

total of 2.5 meters (100 inches) of rain on the island.

An aerial view of flooding caused by Typhoon Morakot in Chiatung, Taiwan.

Flood waters brought by Typhoon Morakot submerge a house in Chiatung, Pingtung county, in southern Taiwan, on August 9, 2009.

A man stands on a roof as he awaits rescue in heavy flooding in Taimali, south-eastern Taiwan's Taitung county on August 8, 2009 during Typhoon Morakot.

A hotel building leans before falling in a heavily flooded river after Typhoon Morakot hit Taitung county, Taiwan, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009. The six-story hotel collapsed and plunged into the river Sunday morning after floodwaters eroded its base - all 300 people in the hotel had been evacuated and uninjured, officials said.

A massive landslide is seen across a mountain road in Pingtung county, southern Taiwan, Monday, Aug. 10, 2009.

At least 120 people are known to have died so far, but hundreds

remain missing - many from one village in Taiwan, reportedly

engulfed by a mudslide during the storm.

A rescuer comforts villagers in southern Taiwan, on August 10, 2009.

A man trapped by floods gestures at rescuers delivering food and drinking water after Typhoon Morakot hit Pingtung county, southern Taiwan August 9, 2009.

A woman, taking shelter from Typhoon Morakot, rests in a temporary evacuation centre in Chiatung, in southern Taiwan's Pingtung county on August 9, 2009.

A distraught woman waits for word of her missing father from Shiao Lin village, which was covered in a landslide from Typhoon Morakot in Kaohsiung county, southern Taiwan, at a rescue landing zone on Monday, Aug. 10, 2009.

Two women hold each other in a local emergency room after being rescued by helicopter from a village covered in a landslide from Typhoon Morakot in Kaohsiung county, southern Taiwan, Monday. Aug. 10, 2009.

Over 14,000 troops have been deployed in response to this disaster, and countless others

have volunteered in rescue and relief efforts.

Evacuees sit on top of a military vehicle as rescuers search the flooded area for people after rains brought by Typhoon Morakot inundated the area in Chiatung, Pingtung county, in southern Taiwan, on August 9, 2009.

A girl is carried out from mudslide caused by Typhoon Morakot in Chiashien, Kaohsiung county, in southern Taiwan, on August 10, 2009.

An elderly man is carried from a helicopter to a high school in Chishan, in Taiwan's Kaohsiung county on August 10, 2009 after being airlifted from the southern village of Shiao Lin.

Rescuers are seen before a Taoist temple inundated in floodwaters brought by Typhoon Morakot in Chiatung, southern Taiwan, on August 9, 2009.

A man carries a baby as a family is rescued from flooding brought by Typhoon Morakot in Chiatung, Pingtung county, in southern Taiwan, on August 9, 2009.

While the rescue operation is still going on, rehabilitation and

reconstruction work have started, which is just as pressing as relief efforts but might be even more

difficult and cumbersome.

Taiwan military help elderly residents remove debris from floods caused by Typhoon Morakot in Cishan, Taiwan, Tuesday, Aug. 11. Rescue officials have said more than 300 people were ferried from disaster areas on more than 100 emergency flights.

Rescuers load medicine and food aid into a helicopter at the Chishan evacuation centre in Kaohsiung county in southern Taiwan on August 11, 2009 to help those affected by massive flooding in the region.

Taiwan needs your help. Your assistance and contribution will be

greatly appreciated.